Gin to add new flavour to the Fruit Market

Craig Heads (left), Charlotte Bailey and Lee Kirman from Humber Street Distillery Co raise a toast to their new venture with Wykeland Groups Tom Watson.

Inspired by the surge in popularity of gin, Lee Kirman and Charlotte Bailey are opening one of only a handful of combined gin bars and distilleries across the country in Humber Street, in the Fruit Market area of Hull.

They are investing £160,000 in Humber Street Distillery Co, with £50,000 going on a bespoke, 150-litre gin still which is being imported from Germany.

The opening next month will create up to eight full and part-time jobs.

The bar, which will stock around 100 varieties of gin, will open on April 15 and the still is due to be installed in August when the couple will begin producing their own brand of fruit-flavoured gin in tribute to the venue’s location.

The pair previously rejuvenated the nearby Minerva pub and the opening of the new bar will coincide with the Minerva Gin Festival being held at Fruit, opposite the new bar.

The redevelopment of the Fruit Market is being delivered by joint venture company Wykeland Beal working in partnership with Hull City Council.

Mr Kirman said: “We took inspiration from bars in cities such as London and Edinburgh, but wanted to take it a step further by distilling our own gin on the premises.

“We knew we could make a real success of it because gin is seeing such a resurgence in popularity. We stock around 50 varieties of gin at The Minerva and they go down really well with our customers.

“Our first gin festival last October was also a great success.”

When the distillery is up and running, guests will also be able to distil their own gin from a miniature still brought to their table and take away their tipple in a Fruit Market-themed and personalised bottle.